Investigation of sweatomics in stress response using wearable biosensors
Abstract
High levels of stress, caused by extreme working environments, can significantly affect the cognitive performance of naval personnel . Early detection and classification of the severity of stress allow for timely intervention which is crucial for improving the perf ormance of sailors. However, current stress assessment approaches are largely based on questionnaires, which can be very subjective. Recent studies are mostly based on commercial devices which are only capable of tracking an individuals physical activities and vi tal signs, failing to monitor the users health state at molecular levels. On the other side, monitoring stress hormones is a highly attractive approach for accurately tracking stress and anxiety levels. Considering that invasive blood sampling itself is a stress- inducing process, sweat could serve as an excellent candidate for non-invasive stress response monitoring as it contains rich physio logical information. Till now, there are few reports on the presence, secretion, and dynamics of stress hormones in human sweat. Our hypothesis is that the molecular secretion of three stress hormones (i.e., cortisol, adrenaline, and norepinephrine) in human sweat is mainly based on passive diffusion from plasma; dynamic sweat stress hormone levels monitored continuously using laser-engraved g raphene-based wearable sensors could enable personalized cognitive performance monitoring and optimization. We propose to develop a wireless sensor system for real-time, non-invasive stress hormone analysis and investigate the dynamics of the sweat hormone levels under various stressors. We believe that stress hormone levels monitored using a wearable sensor will not only enhance personalized cognitive performance but also enable numerous new fundamental investigations on chronic health conditions such as post-traumatic st ress disorder.Approved for Public Release
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Oct 22, 2021
- Source ID
- N000142112845
Entities
People
- Wei Gao
Organizations
- California Institute of Technology
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy